25 June 2008 | Greeks, who are among the world’s heaviest smokers will have to curb their habit in a couple of years, as a law proposal to ban smoking in public areas, complete with a series of restrictions and fines, is expected to come into force on January 1, 2010.

According to statistics recently published by the Ekathimerini daily newspaper, 46 per cent of Greek men and 31 per cent of women are regular smokers. Despite of that, a survey found that 8 of 10 people do not view the imminent ban as an infringement on personal rights and over 70 per cent said that national government policy should target the reduction of smoking.

The law proposal, which is expected to be voted on by Parliament soon, mandates that – starting in 2010, smoking be banned from all public places, including restaurants, airports, public transportation stops, ports and food and drink factories.

In addition, according to the Ta Nea newspaper, the new law includes a ban on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes to people under 18 year of age. An increase of the price of cigarettes is currently being considered by the Greek ministries of finance and healthcare.

Once in place, the ban will be enforced by fines – according to Ta Nea, people caught smoking in public places will have to pay 300 euro, while venues that do not abide will be fined by as much as 3,000 euro.

The Greek move is part of a Europe-wide initiative to curb the habit. A wave of anti-smoking bans swept across Western Europe – Ireland was the first European country to prohibit smoking in public places in 2004, shortly followed by Norway in the same year and Italy in 2005. England introduced a ban in 2007. In France and Germany, smoking in public places started to be forbidden on the first day of 2008.

The Balkans, as with other issues, are much slower and more reluctant to jump on this bandwagon. Though most of the states in the region have partial smoking bans, which prohibit cigarettes in places such as hospitals, schools and administrative buildings, for the most part they are largely ignored and rarely enforced, as are requirements to have separate smoking and non-smoking sections in bars, cafés and restaurants.

Not so in Turkey, however, where a ban on smoking in public places was introduced in May, as BalkanTravellers.com reported. Even though the country has among the highest rates of smokers in the world – nearly half of its 25-million population, the prohibition seems to be successfully enforced and respected.

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